What do Dunkin' Donuts, J. Crew, Toys "R" Us, and Burger King have in common? They are all currently or just recently were owned, operated, and controlled by private equity firms. The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything takes the listener behind the scenes of these firms: their famous billionaire founders, the overlapping stories of their creation and evolution, and the outsized ambitions that led a group of clever bankers from small shops into powerhouse titans of capital.

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Publisher's Summary

What do Dunkin' Donuts, J. Crew, Toys "R" Us, and Burger King have in common? They are all currently or just recently were owned, operated, and controlled by private equity firms.

The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything takes the listener behind the scenes of these firms: their famous billionaire founders, the overlapping stories of their creation and evolution, and the outsized ambitions that led a group of clever bankers from small shops operating in a corner of Wall Street into powerhouse titans of capital. This is the story of the money and the men who handle it.

Go inside the private worlds of founders Henry Kravis, Steve Schwarzman, David Bonderman, and more in The New Tycoons, and discover how these men have transformed the industry and built the some of the most powerful and most secretive houses of money in the world.

With numerous private equity firms going public for the first time, learn how these firms operate, where their money comes from and where it goes, and how every day millions of customers, employees, and retirees play a role in that complex tangle of money

Author Jason Kelly tells the story of how 30 some years ago a group of colleagues with $120,000 of their own savings founded what would become one of the largest private equity shops in the world, completing the biggest buyout the world has ever seen, and making them all billionaires in the process

Presents a never-before-seen look inside a secretive and powerful world on the verge of complete transformation as the industry and its leaders gain public profiles, scrutiny, and political positions

Analyzing the founders and the firms at a crucial moment, when they've elevated themselves beyond their already lofty ambitions into the world of public opinion and valuation, New Tycoons looks at one of the most important, yet least examined, trillion-dollar corners of the global economy and what it portends for these new tycoons.

Would you consider the audio edition of The New Tycoons to be better than the print version?

No. I found the narration to be a little unnatural, as if it was generated by a computer. I have listened to Brett Barry's other sample recordings and found them to be similarly start-stop. Sometimes I wondered if the narrator was actually aware of the sentence structure of what he was speaking, or just saying the words as they appeared on the page without much thought to how they would be spoken in conversation.

Would you be willing to try another one of Brett Barry’s performances?

Probably not, since I felt that the narration somewhat detracted from the story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This is not that kind of book!

Any additional comments?

Again, I just think the narration was dry and digital. I feel bad writing this in case it really was a genuine narration, but I seriously wonder whether it was just narrated by a computer using Brett Barry's voice samples...

As for the book itself; it's interesting and complete enough to build an interesting and engaging story. I would certainly recommend the print book to anyone.

Yes, I would listen to it again. It was well balanced with historical and current information. I was entertained while listening about the individuals and decisions that led to the "industry that owns everything". I thought it was all about greed and job losses and surprised at how much I learned.

What did you like best about this story?

The Private Equity opportunity was not an obvious one and trail blazers such as George Roberts, Henry Kravis, Steven Schwarzman, David Bonderman, David Rubenstein created an unpopular and unlikely "wild west" business into what it is today.

Great key milestone stories; TPG bought TXU Energy in 2007, Occupy Wall Street movement, Mitt Romney and the White House, the decisions for KKR, Blackstone and Carlyle and Apollo to go public. I liked that Kelly included Canadian context and sharing of the PE start up in Ontario with Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) and Canada Pension Plan (CPPIB). The recognition the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) was formed with many Canadian pension funds and the first organization to say, we need to do something to align interest of the investor with the interest of the industry and define a beneficial relationship.

Have you listened to any of Brett Barry’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

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